I agree. It is best not to assume the worst of people. We should always assume that people here are here because they are genuinely seeking information or fellowship. Now, if it is an obvious spam thread or something like that it often isn’t even a person but what is called a bot that is responsible.

Often lurking is enough for people until they have a question they want to ask, so they may be real. I would use due caution with first time posters who are not so much seeking advice as posting links or news articles. That behavior seems odd, but they could still be genuine.

We all have to start sometime as a member. “First poster” may not mean less knowledge or incompetence. They are just first time posters, period.

And, often times, “new member” does not mean first time on this forum. There are MANY people who have multiple accounts, which is not an immediate forum violation. I, for one, have changed monikers because I grew tired of a personal conflict going on on my other account. It was just easier to change online faces than to continue to deal with it.